When the Numbers are More Optimistic Than We Are

Every year, I look forward to the annual letter from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Either that line made you roll your eyes or it made you smile in recognition, that tiny moment when you find out that nerdiness is shared with someone else.

That’s my favorite thing.

But back to it. Of course this letter is something I look forward to: it’s written about the power of philanthropy, measurement, and progress. It’s about centering the experiences, lives and health of women. It’s about embracing what works, and moving forward, shoulder to shoulder with those you are working to help.

These two are the most exceptional kinds of people. Because they understand implicitly how the lives of others, those living in far-off and remote places, with few resources and no voice– they understand how those lives intersect and impact their own. That we are only as healthy and successful as the most vulnerable us. That’s what community is.